Statute of Limitations in Florida

Hi Sami

Welcome to the forums.

Don't worry about this account. This one is past the SOL period as the date of last activity is shown as 11/1999. Even if the attorney tries hard, he can't prove anything against you.

The federal laws allow the creditors to take actions against you even if the debt goes out of the SOL period. But you will have to present yourself in the court to dispute it and if you do so, you will get through.

If you fail to appear in the court, actions can be taken against you and you might be legally forced to pay this debt. There will be least chances to defend yourself at that time.

Read this article and know how to act when a summon has been served.

http://forums.debtcc.com/forums/creditors-action.html

Regards
Roxette

Thank you for your quick and comforting reply. I was also wondering if there is anything that could grant this atty the judgement. I was a single mother with 3 children at the time of this credit acct and could not continue paying and he comes after me representing the collection agency 6 years later. It has been tough living without credit believe me. Also, why does it say at the bottom of my notice of hearing that this is an attempt to collect a debt.....
it's at the bottom of all the papers - what does that mean? and why is it in Judge's chambers and not a courtroom. Also, I will be present at the hearing - I wouldn't miss it. Thank you again for your website it is very informative.

Hi Sami

Welcome back.

An attorney making collection attempts also should follow the laws laid down in the fdcpa. Get a fair idea on the debt collection efforts listed in the FDCPA in the Federal Trade Commission's website.

The attorney making a collection attempt must follow the laws in your state. You should seek help from the attorney general office and know the laws in your state. You can contact the attorney general through National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG)

Regards
Roxette

hi, I am very happy to have stubble upon your website. I have been trying to get a mortgage for a home but my credit is poor and i want to clear it up this year but money is very tight. most of my credit is old, since 96, 99 with no new activit because cannot qualify for a c/c. my question is when it says estimated date this item will be removed, will it really be removed on that date and does that go for judgements to? if yes, can I then contact the credit bureau to remove after that date?

Your accounts have shown no activity since 1999 and as per the legal statute in Florida, it is out of the SOL period.

The negative information will appear in your file since the date of opening of this account for a period of 7 years. Once this 7 years reporting period as per the FCRA is over, it will automatically disappear from your file. Or else, place a dispute with the bureau.

Hi there...glad to have found this site!
What is the time-barred debt amount in Florida?
I keep finding all different kinds of sights but can't find the exact info. Thanks!

Hi Laine

Quote:

The child enforcement unit in New York says I owe 6500.00 in back support from 1986.(i disagree with this) and I have told them so,but it falls on deaf ears.On two occassions this appeared on 2 different credit reports, I had it removed.Can they still collect this debt that is 23 years old. Currently I live in Florida.

Hi David

Since this is a legal issue, I may not be in the position to suggest you anything in specific because of the limited information given by you. However, you can get some details on child support in Florida at the attached link

I have a car that was repossessed in 9/02 and charged off 4/03. Is the sol from the actual date of repossession or from the date it is charged off?? Also, i get harrassing calls all the time from a collection agency, however they will not give me their address. I just have a number . They have never sent me a letter even.


Thanks
Kimberli

david f. marshall...I would definatly check the laws. I had a neighbor (in NH) who never paid his child support, he was summoned back to the state of CT because his now adult son was suing him for the past due child support.

KIMBERLI

Statute of limitation is calculated from the date of last activity in the account. In other words, the time period of the SOL will be calculated from the date of last delinquency in your account.

Since I don't have the complete information from you in this matter, I am framing it in this way. As your debt is secured, creditors can try to sell the repossessed item and make you pay for the balance amount that is owed after the sale of the item. Thus, the balance amount that you will pay becomes unsecured debt. If it gets past the SOL period, you can legally refuse to pay it further and also avoid all legal actions. Check the laws on statute in your state. Remember, if your debt is past the SOL period, a promissory note or a payment towards the account can actually renew the SOL period from the beginning and you will be brought back under legal actions.

Is there an SOL on unpaid phone bills? My hubby receive a letter from a CA today regarding an old sprint bill. Would it list the date of last activity on his credit report?

Phone bills will be covered under the unsecured debts. The SOL will be calculated from the date of last activity in the account.

I bought a car thru a buy here pay here dealership. The car was reposessed two years later with a balance of just over $2000. Over a year later the reposession is now on my credit. I was never given an opportunity to purchase the car back after the reposession nor was I notified of what they did with the car after the sale. Can I dispute this with the credit agencies to have this removed since they did not follow the appropriate protocol as required by Florida?

lisat2003

Contact your consumer protection office. Remember, there are two sides of every story. You don't know how the other party has framed the story. If they have done something illegal with you, they will have to pay the price. Report all the violations to the concerned authorities. You should also contact your creditor because they will not like to get their name spoiled if they have done something wrong. Your PEACE cannot be BREACHED. They have to abide by the fdcpa, G-L-B, and The Privacy Act etc.
Repossession is negative information in your credit report and it will stay for 10 years. You may be interested in adding a 100 word statement in case the dispute is not resolved.

Hi,

I was contacted by a collection agency on a debt from 1992 or 1993. I lived in Florida until Feb of 93, then was in Alabama for 3 years, then in Georgia for the last 9 years. I've recently gotten divorced and moved back to Florida. This was for a credit card, as opposed to a local Florida based company, I'm not sure if the state SOL would run for the state where the card was originally issued, or the state where the default was made. Can anyone help me out?

Branwynn, the Statutes for legally colleting the debt expires after the period keeping in mind where the account was originally opened and based on the date of last activity. It has no relation to the place where the account last defaulted.

Since this debt occurred during the period 1992 or 1993, it is past the statutes if you have not made any payment to the account in the in the recent times. You should also not sign any promissory note to pay the debt after the legal period. Otherwise, this will be treated as your consent to pay the debt and is enough to renew the collections legally.

Thanks so much! I was afraid that since I'd been out of Florida it wouldn't count!

The SOL period keeps ticking even if you are not in the state. However, just being in the safe side, it will be better to check with the registrar of the local county and see if the creditors have taken any legal steps against you like issuing a judgment. They can take such steps only within the SOL period. You can also view the latest copy of your credit report from the three national bureaus and get confirmed.

I actually recently (within the last 2 weeks) puled my credit report and it isn't on there. Actually, I pull it at least once a year for the last 6 years or so, and haven't seen it there.

I had to stop payments on my timeshare due to the fact that I have one income now instead of two. I stopped sometime this pastsummer. What can happen to me regarding debt collection?

krazeekat

Timeshare is one of the strongest contracts signed by an individual. There is no end to the maintenance fees and it will go on forever. It is necessary to go through the policy that you have signed. If you do not follow it, they can go after your kids, spouse or other family member.

Collection on timeshare is very strong. A non- judicial default judgment can be put against you on the basis of your contract signed with the lender. You won't be asked to appear in the court also. Until the debt is paid, you will have to pay the court costs, maintenance fees, taxes and the minimum amount of interest allowed by law. A lien can also be put on your property. The simple solution is to just pay it off. There are some companies that can help you to pay this debt. The deed will get transferred to their name and you have to pay them for their services including the maintenance fees. After you have paid this timeshare, my suggestion will be to never buy it in the future.

I recently appeared in court over a credit card debt and at pre-trial pled that I do not owe the debt. Trial is set for June '06. Before setting trial date judge told us to go to mediation, we did and the attorney said something to me that was amusing. She said if I trtied to use the 4 year statute of limitations I am going to lose. I thinks she's crazy. The last payment made on this card was 10/2001..they filed suit Januray 2006. By my count the 4 years is up. She said that the debt was "charged off" May 2002 and that's the date they start counting. I know she's wrong, but I need some case law to prove my point to the judge. I'm in Florida....any advice? Thank you.

eddiep,

I do believe SOL starts from the date of last activity seen in your account. However, if your creditor does not belong to your state, they can chose which state laws they will use to sue you. Obviously they will go for the state that has longer SOL.

I would strongly recommend you to consult a local lawyer with all the legal papers you have. Keep us posted.

Dear Stan:

Thanx for your speedy reply and advice. The creditor is not the original one but a law firm specializing in buying charged off paper and is incorporated and is a Florida corporation. Florida is 4 years on open accounts as you are aware, and I can't see how they have a leg to stand on. I will keep you posted. Thanx again...eddiep

I just received a call from a debt recovery agency about a debt that was charged-off by a creditor in 1989. They are suggesting that they'll report this to the credit bureaus. I know the SOL has run for them filing a lawsuit, but I concerned about my credit report. Can they report this old charged-off debt?

Darryl, monitor your credit report closely. If anything like this happens, it will be against the fdcpa laws and you will have the legal rights to file a lawsuit against the company. Just be sure that do not make any payments on this account. If it happens, this debt will again be entered in your CR. At this time, the account can't be reported in your CR because it is out of the 7 years reporting time also. So, be alert and keep a check on your file.

I live in Fla. & had e repo about 8 months ago...I am now getting calls from lender threatning legal action. Can I go to jail for mnot paying them back? They have the car, why should I pay???????

You should consult a lawyer sissie. According to my understanding, their repossession is not the last step when the borrower defaults on a car loan. The property is resold to compensate the outstanding balance. So go through the papers of contract and see a lawyer immediately. Keep us updated as well.

I live in the state of FL. I have a collections agency calling on an old credit card. According to my credit report it was opened in 5/99 with a last payment date of 5/01 and a last activity date of 9/99. Which date do you go buy for SOL? One last question - I see collection agency info on my credit report they read Collection reported date-6/2005 - Assigned 3/2001 date of 1st deliquency as 12/2000 and then balance as of 6/2005- what date does SOL go by? Thanks!

SOL is counted from the date of last activity. But the date of last activity should be the same with the date of last payment. I wonder these are different in your report. You can dispute it with credit bureaus.

To answer your second question, let me know if you are looking for SOL of credit report aka 7 year reporting act. The date of first delinquency should be considered. Again so many dates are mentioned there. It seems the account was delinquent in 12/2000, your creditor assigned collection agency in 03/2001, but collection agency reported to CRA in 06/2005. Does that make any sense?

Thanks Stan. All these different dates were a bit confusing. I just want to clarify your second response. The SOL on my credit report should be based off of the date the account was deliquent? Not the date is was assigned to a collection agency or reported to CRA?

Sherry,

Delinquency could be of different type. If an account is declared as charged-off, it is also a delinquency. And it will stay in your account for 7 years from the date delinquency occurred.

Now if the creditor transfers the charged-off account to collection, it will be reported as charged-off/collection. Once you pay it your report is updated as paid charged-off/collection. This is still a derogatory mark. So here the original delinquency occurred when it went charged-off, right?

Now, if your creditor appointed collection agency without declaring the account as charged-off, then the date it was transferred to collection is the date of delinquency. If the CA reports it lately, you can dispute it.

In your case the account went delinquent in 2000, what was the status then? Was it charged-off? Or it was sent to collection directly.

However, in both the cases, it seems to be removed in 2007. You can call any credit reporting agency and ask for more details. Hope this helps.

The account from 2000 went directly to collections - it was a past medical bill. Sorry for not clarifying that earlier.

I appreciate your time and your thorough explanation.

It should go off of your report in 2007.

Stand firm in court

I just recieved a called from a collection company threating me with a law suit for a credit card debt that became delinquent in 1999 (which does not appear in my credit history). The person who called claimed there was a payment in 2002; which I know never happened.

thanks
maria

Maria, if the last payment was done in 2002, the SOL will come into effect from that date. Check the laws of your state and know the SOL timeframe. If the debt is past this timeframe, you are under no legal obligation to pay anything towards the account.

I have a credit card account that was opened in 1997... there has not been a payment on the account since 1999, however a collection agency has just started calling threating leagal action if I don't make payment arrangements immediatly. It appears to me from reading your forum that this account would be outside the SOL. Can they still persure legal action or is that all talk?

Wendy

Be confirmed about the SOL in your state before you consider this factor. Your account should not show any payment activity within the SOL period of your state. Besides, the CA has to validate the debt in writing so as to prove that they are making a legitimate collection. If they are unable to give you the info in writing, you can legally refuse to pay them anything.

Do all your correspondences in writing through certified mail with return receipt requested. Have everything documented to prove your part of the actions.

This is a great forum. I have been surfing and gathering info about SOL. I'm in FL and also have a CA calling me about an old CC debt. It has to be old because my credit has been squeeky clean for well over 7 years and my tri-merged credit report from last week is clear. So far I have been letting the CA call and eat my answering machine several times a day. It's funny because I can now hear frustration in her voice from not being about to reach me. If they ever send me a letter I will then demand all sorts of verification.
I do have a question. I have seen all sorts of responses concerning validation and I gather I am requesting legal proof I owe a debt to a CA. My question is: Can I request certified copies of any papers that show the sale or assignment of an alleged debt from the original creditor to this CA? And further, if that sale or assignment does not exist provide me with certified copies showing the unbroken chain of sales or assignments going back to the original creditor?

Hi David

The collection agency must send you all the information about the debt account in writing. You can ask them to show copies of the agreement signed with the original creditor. This is to ensure that the CA is doing legal collections and you don't end up sending money to the wrong company. Send all your letters through certified mail with return receipt requested so that you have proof of your actions

IncredibleHelp

Thanks for your reply. With all I have read about these junk debt CAs buying and selling debt in bilk, nobody can be sure the CA contacting them legaly owns the paper they are attempting to collect without legal proof of the paper trail back to the original creditor.

Hello. I has a debt with chrysler financial in 1998. They tried to collect the debt a couple of times, but has since stoppped and I have not heard from them in several years. the debt was placed on my credit and has been remoed since it had been past seven years. I have been contacted by a collection agency who says the debt was placed in collection july of this year. does this mean SOL time has started all over again?

Hi. I got a letter today from a debt collector regarding phone service i had in until Sep 00. Is this a time barred debt in the state of Florida?

I had a vehicle financed with ford motor credit in 1995 and voluntarily gave it back in 98 due to being unable to make the payments. There was a judgement entered against my husband and I on 4.09.98 that we were not aware of until we attempted to purchase a home and use our property as collateral. I received a notice of taking depositions on March 30th for me, the date for the depo is May 9th. Is the florida statute expired on this judgement on 4.08.08? Mu husband has never received anything at all regarding this debt and it is not on either of our credit reports and he and i have been separated for years now. I file as hoh with a handicap adult child as my dependent. What can I do?

Okay, here's my turn. I have Asset Acceptance threatening to put a judgement against me on a very old Circuit City account that was opened in 1996 but hasn't shown up nor is it on my credit report to this day.

Does this mean according to Florida SOL that AA doesn't have a leg to stand on even though they are threatening me or do they?

Any information will be appreciated.

last payment was made 8/03/2003 collection calls are coming in at at least 3 a day they say sol is in efect i was told by a friend that a judge here in fl. told her that the sol is from your last payment

I recently bought an RV in a MHP. The meter had a white tag (active legal service), I waited 3 wks until the CO-OP turned the power off and tried to get service in my name, they told me that the meter had been tampered with and I would have to pay a $500 tampering fee + pay for all the power that had been drawn through the meter($150) + $300 deposit(instead of usual $200), I told them I had just bought the place 3 wks ago and had paperwork to prove it, They said OK we won't charge you the tampering fee, but you still have to pay the $150 , $300 deposit, and buy the way we found a 21yr old past due bill in your name, which also has to be paid before we give you service. How can they do this? can you help?